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Sergio Pérez
|birthplace=Guadalajara, Mexico |nationality= |years = –[[ Formula One Season|present]] |status = Active |currentteam= |currentcar=11 |firstrace=2011 Australian Grand Prix |lastrace= |2016Position=7th |2016Pts=101 |2017Position = |2017Pts = }} Sergio Pérez Mendoza (born January 26, 1990 in Guadalajara), is currently a driver for alongside Esteban Ocon. Pérez was one of four drivers who débuted in for , with the others being Pastor Maldonado, Paul di Resta and Jérôme d'Ambrosio. He is the first Mexican driver in Formula One in 30 years since Héctor Rebaque in 1981. He scored his first podium at the 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix, after fighting for the lead with 's Fernando Alonso, being the first Mexican to do so in more than 40 years. Pérez drove for in , and was dropped from the team at the end of year. He joined the team for the following season, and currently drives the No. 11 car. Formula One Career 2011 In October 2010, it was announced that Pérez would drive for the Sauber team in 2011 alongside Kamui Kobayashi. In his first race, in Australia, he finished seventh, stopping for tyres only once. Unfortunately, he and his team-mate, who finished one place behind, were disqualified due to a rear wing infringement, which meant that Pérez would become one of the very few drivers to be disqualified from their first Formula One race, along with Robert Kubica, Martin Brundle, Eppie Wietzes and Stefan Bellof. It was also the first race disqualification since Lewis Hamilton at the same circuit in 2009. In Malaysia, Pérez, whose dream season had been turned into a nightmare, was suffering even more when his car was struck by a piece of debris, damaging the Sauber and causing Pérez to retire. In China, he finished outside the points, in 17th, being penalized with a "drive through" and "stop and go". In Turkey, Pérez, who still had no points, finished again outside the points, in 14th. In Spain, Pérez scored his first points of the season, finishing 9th and scoring two points. However, this would have been eight points had the young Mexican not been disqualified in Australia. In Monaco, only 23 cars started as Pérez had suffered a terrible accident in the third qualifying session. Pérez had just exited the tunnel when his Sauber crashed into the barrier separating the track and escape road. He suffered a sprained thigh and concussion and was unable to start the race. In Canada, Pérez was replaced by ex-Sauber driver and current McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa, as Pérez was still feeling unwell after his Monaco accident. de la Rosa finished 12th in the race. At Valencia, Pérez recovered from his injuries and was well enough to race. He finished 11th, just outside the points. 2012 turned out to be Pérez's best season with Sauber, with three podiums, including a couple of second place finishes in Malaysia and Italy. He was the first Mexican on an F1 podium since Pedro Rodriguez in 1970, and his podium at Malaysia was Sauber's first podium since the 2003 United States Grand Prix, but also the 2009 Brazilian Grand Prix if BMW Sauber counts. In the former, he briefly led the race (laps 14-15 and 40-41) and lost out when he ran wide into the gravel, allowing Fernando Alonso to win. In the latter, he finished behind Lewis Hamilton's , and all three drivers on the podium were eliminated on the first lap of the previous round, the Belgian Grand Prix, thanks to Romain Grosjean's antics which earned him a ban from the Italian Grand Prix. Hamilton, Grosjean and Pérez also finished on the podium together in Canada. 2013 Pérez moved to for after Hamilton departed to to replace 7-time World Champion Michael Schumacher. In a horrible season for McLaren, Pérez did not regain his winning form of 2012 and could not finish any higher than fifth, despite finishing every race of the season, while his more experienced team-mate Jenson Button finished fourth in the last race of the season in Brazil. Pérez and Button also starred in the McLaren-produced cartoon Tooned, focusing on the team's 50th anniversary. Pérez was dropped from McLaren after only a single season for the British outfit, and replaced by Danish rookie Kevin Magnussen. 2014 Pérez made his debut in 2014, partnering Nico Hülkenberg, who returns to the team after a year off. The Mexican became the team's first non-European driver. In the third race at Bahrain, he scored his first podium since 2012 and the team's second podium since the 2009 Belgian Grand Prix where Giancarlo Fisichella scored. He described the podium as a special podium. Pérez was involved in a huge crash at Canada with Felipe Massa after a contact. He was deemed a 5-place grid penalty for his next race and the penalty was upheld by the Austrian stewards. Pérez had another big crash at Hungary when he spun out at the final corner on lap 23. He later admitted that it was his fault that he crashed into the wall. 2015 Pérez continued to drive for Force India in , but the start to the season was not a successful start to him. He only finished tenth in Australia, and in the next few races, he could only manage to score further more points three times, with a best finish of seventh at Monaco. As the VJM08 was upgraded to a B-spec car for the , he started to impress the team with a few decent results and a third place at the . He finished the 2015 season in 9th with 78 points, and ahead of his team-mate Nico Hülkenberg. It was Pérez's best Formula One season to date. 2016 The season for Pérez was not another good start in the first few races of the season, finishing outside of the points until he could manage a point in Russia, finishing ninth. At the , he managed to finish on the podium ahead of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, finishing third in the race. He also finished on the podium at Azerbaijan, overtaking Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen in Turn 1 at the final lap of the race. At the , as he was running 10th in the final lap of the race, he missed out on points due to a brake failure which he ended up crashing out and hitting the barriers at turn 3. Formula One Statistical Overview Formula One Record Career Statistics Correct as of the 2017 Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying Career Results | |17th|14th| | Perez was injured in Qualifying for the 2011 Monaco Grand Prix. At the following race in Canada, Perez withdrew following Free Practice as a result of his injuries. He returned for the 2011 European Grand Prix| |11th| |11th|15th| | | | |16th| |11th|13th|14|16th}} | |11th|11th| |11th| | | | |14th| | | | |11th| |15th|11th| |66|10th}} |11th| | |16th|11th|20th| | |11th|12th| | |15th| | | | |49|11th}} | | | | | |11th| |11th| | | | | | | | |15th| |59|10th}} |13th|11th| |13th| |11th| | | | | | |12th| | | |12th| |78|9th}} | | | | |17th| |11th| | | | | | | | | | |101|7th}} |- |- Notes Category:Living people Category:1990 births Category:Mexican Drivers Category:2011 Début Drivers Category:Sauber Drivers Category:McLaren Drivers Category:Current Drivers Category:Force India Drivers